Can a Georgia criminal defense attorney request a change of venue?
A change of venue is a request to move a trial from the county where charges were filed to another location, and it is available in Georgia under defined circumstances. The request rests on the principle that a defendant is entitled to a trial before a fair and impartial jury.
The usual venue is fixed by where the offense occurred. Criminal cases are generally tried in the county where the crime is alleged to have taken place, so a change of venue is an exception to that rule that requires a specific justification.
In practice, the central basis for such a request concerns jury impartiality. A change of venue may be sought where pretrial publicity or community sentiment is so pervasive that selecting an impartial jury in the original county would be difficult. The question is whether the local environment compromises the ability to seat fair jurors.
The court evaluates the request based on the circumstances. Factors can include the extent and nature of any publicity and whether its effects can be addressed through the jury selection process itself, since careful voir dire may sometimes identify impartial jurors despite publicity.
A change of venue request ultimately turns on whether a fair and impartial jury can be assembled where the case originated. Whether publicity or community sentiment has reached a level that prevents an impartial trial, and whether voir dire can address it, are the considerations that shape how such a request is decided.